Kansas Highway Patrol To Begin Using Electronic Citations

Posted 2 years ago

By Fred Gough

TOPEKA – The Kansas Highway Patrol will begin issuing citations in a different form next week in part of the state, and would like to make Kansans and our travelers aware of the changes they may see if they are pulled over and cited.

All officers who are part of the Kansas Highway Patrol, including state troopers, motor carrier inspectors, and Capitol Police officers, will eventually be using an electronic form of citation, rather than the typical hand-written copies that people may be familiar with. With support from the district courts throughout Kansas, the Patrol will make the switch to electronic citations in the northwest region next week, and will switch the other six regions of the state over in the next few months.

“The e-citation system is an extremely efficient platform that will further our goal to provide professional, quality service to the motoring public, as well as to the courts throughout Kansas. This endeavor is another positive step in the right direction. We are pleased to be able to further enhance our partnership with the Kansas judicial system,” said Captain Scott Harrington, commander of the Patrol’s Public and Governmental Affairs section.

An important thing for motorists to be aware of is that for the new electronic citations, no signature is required. Motorists should not notice much of a delay if they are being issued a citation, and the new electronic citations will not change the fine amounts for violations.

Court officials praised the Kansas Highway Patrol’s e-citations system. “From the court system’s perspective, the e-citation program could result in added efficiency and accuracy in processing these kinds of cases,” a court spokesman said.

Switching to electronic citations will allow for better efficiencies in the Patrol’s way of doing business. Some benefits include:

Improved internal stats to provide more consistency in training and oversight.

Citations will be easier to read, resulting in more accurate entry of information over handwritten copies.

The citations will be integrated with the Kansas Law Enforcement Reporting system, which the Patrol utilizes for accident and arrest reports.

No new hardware was required to implement the system in patrol vehicles. The Patrol leveraged existing equipment, which was already in place in Patrol vehicles. Courts have the option to purchase an additional interface for electronic file transfer, or can continue to manage information through manual data entry.

Reduced lag between the time the ticket is issued and the time the information is available to the courts, improving customer service to the public.

Reduced time to process tickets for the 35+ courts moving to electronic file transfer.

Tickets will now include Citepay information so those who were cited can pay online. The citations also include court contact information.